Sifter having agitator bodies



Nov. 27, 1951 J. F. BARNES SIFTER HAVlNG AGITATOR BODIES ZSHEETS-SHEET 1Filed June 1, 1948 I l I l l Nov. 27, 1951 J. F. BARNES SIFTER HAVINGAGITATOR BODIES 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed June 1, 1948 ang Patented Nov. 27,1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a sifter. The invention is particularly usefulas a siiter of flour and similar granular or fiuid particle material.

An object of the invention is to provide a portable sifter employing amultiple stop action principle which subjects the flour, ejtc., upon thescreento a large number of short quick stops or jerks and results in therapid sieving of the flour. Yet another object is to provide a structurein which balls, disks, squares, cubes or other freelymoving objects areemployed in'a sifting vessel for rolling flour upon a screen, while atthe same time striking the sifter casing to jolt the structure duringthe sifting operation. Yet another object is to provide such asitter-equipped with a handle mounted for limited movementwhichsimilarly subjects the sifter to quick stopping or jolting movements.Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specificationpro.- ceeds.

The invention is illustrated in a specific embodiment by theaccompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a sifterembodying my invention, a portion of the structure being broken away andshown in section; Fig. 2, a vertical sectional view, the section beingtaken as indicated at line 22 of Fig. '1; Fig. 3, a top plan view of amodified form of sifter embodying my invention; and Fig. 4, a transversesectional .view, the section being taken as indicated at line 4-4 ofFig. :3.

In the illustration given in Figs. l and 2, It designates a vessel whichmay be formed of plastic, metal, or any other suitable n'raterial. Thevessel I is provided with an open bottom in which is mounted a screenll. Thescreen may be supported by any suitable means. In the specificillustration given, the screen is clamped between a depending skirtmember [2 of the vessel lflandaring member I3. The ringzmember I3 isprovided with an inwardly-crimped portion [4 serving .toclamp the screentightly in position, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Preferably; the ring orcollar I3' is formed of plastic, and integrally molded therewith is abracket arm '15 providing a socket or seat l6. In the socket 6 ismounted a'tubular handle 11. The upper :end of the bandle is receivedwithin a tubular socket IB provided by a bracket arm l9 formedintegrallywith the vessel 'Ifl, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

The socket portion 180f thearm I9 is :preierably provided with an.inwardlyeturned stop lug 20, asshown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. Thehandle I! is cut away at 2| to provide for angular movement of thehandle relative to the stop lug'20. In-other words, the vessel t0 andbracket arm 19 may swing relative to the handle H for the distance ofthe arcuate cutaway portion 2|. At the end of each swinging movement,the lug 2B strikes the shoulder of the handle H and brings abo t asudden stop to the swinging movement of the vessel I ll.

.Upon the screen il I mount a plurality of balls 22. The balls may beallowed to roll in any direction over the flour supported by the sieve0.1 screen II. In the specific illustration given, th iballs 22 areguided for lateral movement by the transverse strips '23 so that theballs are required to move laterally, striking the sides of the vesselIi]. While the vessel is shown to be in a generally square shape, itwill be understood that any suitable shape may be provided. Thetransverse strips 23 are buttressed and suppOrted by the strips 24running in the opposite direction, as shown more clearly in Fig. 1. Thestrips 23 and 24 may be formed of plastic or any other suitablematerial.

While I have shown a single ball mounted in each of the transverse pathscontrolled by the strips '23, it will be understood that there may bemore than one ball in each path, and further that such paths may bemodified in contour as desired.

If desired, the vessel It may be provided with inwardly-extendingvertical ribs 2-5 which intermesh with recesses 25 carried by the opennetwork or plate member 27 with which the transverse strips 23 and 24are formed in plastic or other suitable material.

In the operation of the structure, the flour is dropped within thevessel H3 and it finds its way through the network strips 24 and '23into the chamber above the screen I I. As the handle I1 is moved in onedirection and halted, the vessel Hl swings about the handle until thestop lug 20 thereof engages the shoulder to one side of the cutaway arc2| of handle ll. of the handle in the opposite direction and thestopping thereof causes the vessel IE] to swing in theopposite directionuntil the lug 20 strikes the shoulder at the other end of the are 2!.Simultaneously with the above movement, the balls 22 roll across thetransverse paths in engagement with the flour and tend to move theflourthrough the sieve. Further, as the balls strike theopposite side ofthe vessel it, :they vibrate or. shake the vessel so as to effect afurther shifting of the'fiour upon the sieve H.

It will be seen from the above that there are four distinct actionswhich bring about a shifting-of the flour upon the sieve M to-efiect-asieving-action. There is first the normalside move-e ment of the vessel"Ill, which produces a shifting of the flour upon the screen H.Secondly, the striking of the stop lug 28 of the vessel arm l9 againstthe shoulders of the handle ll on either side of recess 2i brings thevessel it to sudden stops and effects a movement of the flour upon thescreen. lhirdly, there is the movement of the rollers or balls 22 acrossthe sieve which engages the flour and moves the fiour while at theMovementv is a composite shaking of the structure so that the flourmoves many times over surfaces of the screen H during a single swingingof the handle.

The result is that an effective sieving of the-flour is accomplished ina considerably reduced period while at the same time a more thoroughsieving action is brought about because of the quick short movement offiour particles over areas of the sieve. For example,..one movement ofthe balls 22 across the screen to the opposite side of the vesselusually brings about a successionof impacts as the balls strike thevessel wall at slightly different times, yet each of the impacts iseffective for a slight moving of fiour particles over a small portion ofthe screen. I have further found that the balls 22 thus exert animportant influence upon the sieving action in that they physically movethe flour from side to side while vibrating the screen as they movealong it so as to shift fiour particles for short distances on thescreen.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the body a is equippedwith a central partition wall 36. The transverse guides 23a providerelatively' short courses for the balls 22a, as shown more clearly inFig. 4, and the members 23 may, if desired, be reinforced along theirtop surfaces with the cross strips 24. I prefer to form the centralpartition 30, as illustrated more clearly in Fig. 4, and eachof thecross strips 230. and 24 with a rounded or teardrop-shaped top surface31 so that the fiour, etc. slides readily over the network of suchmembers and into the chamber below where the balls 22a travel over thescreen The body 10a is provided with an integrally extending rear arm 32to which is fixably secured a handle 33. Thus, there is no relativemovement between the handle and the fixed structure The retaining ringfor the screen in either of the structures may be molded as an integralpart of the product. If desired, the screen itself may be molded so thatthe entire body consisting of the receptacle, the handle, and thescreen, are formed in a unitary structure and in one molding operation.

It will be understood that my invention may be employed with all or onlya portion of the vibrating structures described, effective resultsbeingobtained with less than all of the shaking devices combined in thestructure illustrated. I

While in the foregoing specification, I have shown a specific structurein considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating one embodiment ofthe invention, it will be understood that such.

details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A sifter, comprising a vessel which is gen- 4 erally square-shaped inhorizontal cross section, a handle extending laterally from one side ofsaid vessel, said Vessel having an open bottom, a screen mounted in saidbottom of the vessel, a partition wall extending over said screen andupwardly therefrom and generally through a central portion of thescreen, a reticulate frame carried by said vessel above said partitionand supporting the upper portion of said partition wall, dependingguides carried by said frame and extending transversely of said vesselto form with said partition wall two rows of parallel transverseguideways, and a single ball in each guideway, whereby said balls can becaused to strike the sides of said vessel and thereby vibrate saidscreen by rapidly moving said sifter through a generally horizontalplane and then suddenly ceasing the movement thereof. i

2. A sifter, comprising a vessel which is generally square-shaped inhorizontal cross-section, a handle extending laterally from one side ofsaid vessel, said vessel having an open bottom, a screen mounted in saidbottom of the vessel, a partition wall extending over said screen andupwardly therefrom and generally through a central portion of thescreen, a reticulate frame carried by said vessel above said partitionand supportingthe upper portion of said partition wall, depending guidescarried by said frame and extending transversely of said vessel to formwith said partition wall rows of parallel transverse guideways, and aball in each guideway confined by said depending guides against rollingthrough,

an arc of more than 90.

3. A sifter, comprising a vessel having an open bottom, a screen mountedin said bottom of the vessel, a partition wall extending over saidscreen, i

a reticulate frame carried by said vessel above said partition,depending guides carried by said frame in horizontal parallel linestransversely of said vessel to form rows of parallel transverse.

' confined by said depending guides against movement through an arc ofmore than 90, whereby said balls can be caused to strike the sides ofthe vessel and thereby vibrate said screen by rapidly moving said sifterthrough a generally horizontal plane and then suddenly ceasing themovement thereof.

JAMES F. BARNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

